Porsche 918 Spyder at Frankfurt 2013

Porsche 918 Spyder was officially unveiled at Frankfurt Motor Show 2013 (65th Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung), after many months of waiting and teasing. The hybrid supercar delivers top performance and will be built in a limited series of 918 units.

Porsche 918 Spyder Live at Frankfurt Motor Show 2013

Porsche 918 Spyder was today presented in Frankfurt at an event organized by the Volkswagen Group. The model was unveiled as the final production model with all the essential information related to the hybrid successor of the famous Porsche Carrera GT.

Porsche 918 Spyder – Design & Engine

The new Porsche 918 Spyder will be built in 918 copies, all copies with the steering wheel on the left. The production will be carried out in the next 18 months, starting next week. Porsche officials say that they already have orders for two thirds of the planned production, customers interest rising from day to day.

The life of Porsche 918 Spyder began at Geneva Motor Show 2010, when it was just a concept car. Meanwhile, the model has gone through all prototype stages and became a hypercar of 1,634 kilograms (3,602 lbs), able to deliver performance worthy of the McLaren and Ferrari rivals, along with the ability to run in a 100% electric mode or reduced fuel consumption. The hypercar has a 57% weight distribution on the rear axle and 43% on the front.

The drive train model consists of a 4.6-liter V8 engine that delivers 608 horsepower (8,700 rpm and a rev limiter at 9,150 rpm) and two electric motors (210 kW – 286 hp), delivering a total of 887 horsepower, with 917 Nm (676 lb/ft) to 1.280 Nm (944 lb/ft) of torque, depending on gear ratio. Porsche 918 Spyder accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 2.8 seconds, continuing to 200 km/h (125 mph) in 7.7 seconds and reaching 300 km/h (186 mph) in 22 seconds, and stops at the top speed of 345 km/h (215 mph). These figures are possible also thanks to the 7-speed PDK automatic transmission.

Porsche 918 Spyder will have five modes: E-Power, Hybrid, Sport Hybrid, Race Hybrid and Hot Lap, with a mixed fuel consumption of 3.0 to 3.3 Liters/100 km according to NEDC cycle. In 100% electric mode, Porsche 918 Spyder is able to travel over 30 kilometers (20 miles).

The optional Weissach package (at a cost of EUR 65,000) saves 35 kg of weight due to the widespread use of carbon, titanium , magnesium and ceramics in many parts of the car and features a thinner layer of paint. Also has no carpet on the floor, no central console, no glove-box and no carpet in the boot.

The Porsche 918 Spyder price will start from EUR 768,026 or EUR 839,426 depending if it has or not the Weissach package. The magnesium wheels costs another EUR 29,750, while the thin paint EUR 11,900 (reducing weight by 2.5 kg). With EUR 47,600 the customers can paint the car with “liquid metal” paint, while the combination of liquid metal and thin paint costs EUR 59,500.

Porsche claims that, on the last tests of September 4, a team of three drivers (including the former rally champ Walter Röhrl and other two Porsche test drivers Marc Lieb and Timo Kluck) broke the Nürburgring Nordschleife lap record for street-legal production cars (owned for the past two years by the Dodge Viper ACR), Marc Lieb finally setting the best time of 6:57 (4 seconds faster than the Viper ACR).